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June 30, 2005

Geoffrey Fieger on Jury Selection: Don't Listen to the Answers

My two previous posts about Geoffrey Fieger and the trial practice tips he relayed at a recent CLE seminar can be found here and here. Today is the last in the series: jury selection.

Fieger's advice about jury selection is counter-intuitive. "Don't listen to the answers the potential jurors give you," he says. "Instead, look at what they're doing."

The idea is that potential jurors will almost never give you true responses. Even if that's what they think they're doing, they're more likely just telling you what they think you want to hear. Either that, or they're giving you what they judge to be the "politically correct" answer at the moment.

The solution? Don't listen to their answers--or, at least, don't give their answers too much credence. Instead, focus on the way the potential jurors are delivering their answers.

How are the jurors reacting to you? How are they relating to you? Focus on their demeanor, not their words.